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Palit Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB Video Card Review

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SKYMTL

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3DMark 06

3DMark 06


While some may wonder at the use of still including 3DMark06 in the tests it gives us a good idea of the basic limitations of a graphics card. Since the standard test runs at 1280x1024 there will be a fair amount of CPU bottlenecking with higher-end cards and remember that in many cases a higher 3DMark score does not equate better performance. Here we have also included tests with AA and AF enabled

HD4870X2-51.jpg


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It seems like the Palit HD4870 X2 packs a pretty good punch in 3DMark06 but for some reason it peters out when AA is turned on. This is a bit odd to us when compared to the Crossfire HD4870 solution especially at high resolution with AA but it seems like this benchmark just can’t make the best out of the 2GB memory this card has. Perhaps this wil be fixed in an upcoming driver revision.
 

SKYMTL

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3DMark Vantage

3DMark Vantage


3DMark Vantage is the follow-up to the highly successful 3DMark06. It uses exclusively DX10 so if you are running Windows XP, you can forget about running this benchmark. However, it presents us with a truly stressful test of any modern graphics card so we have decided to begin including it in our testing procedure.

Overall Score

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GPU Score

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It seems like the 2GB frame buffer is really able to allow the HD4870 X2 to shine in Vantage where it takes a pretty significant lead over the Crossfire solutions. We would normally make more mention about the Nvidia cards as well but they are so far behind, they aren’t much competition at all.
 

SKYMTL

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Unreal Tournament III / Prey

Unreal Tournament III


With absolutely stunning graphics, this popular online FPS provides great visuals to go hand-in-hand with palm-sweating gameplay.

For these tests we set up a 15 minute Bot Match on the Serenity level and let it play though. All of the results were recorded with the in-game benchmark tool.

HD4870X2-66.jpg

UTIII isn’t exactly the best game to show this card’s prowess since it is severely CPU bound at anything but the highest resolutions. However, once we actually get to those high resolutions the X2 is really able to start stretching its legs


Prey


Even though Prey may be a bit older game compared against many of the other ones we are testing, it still provides a workout of even the best graphics cards on the market. This time we have enabled its Graphics Boost feature (Gboost in the charts) and run through a custom timedemo.

HD4870X2-63.jpg

Here we have a game that has until recently been the sole territory of Nvidia and even though the GTX 280 puts up a brave fight, it just can’t reach the same level as the HD4870 X2. Interestingly, here we once again see the Crossfire setup edging out the 2GB card.
 
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SKYMTL

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Devil May Cry 4

Devil May Cry 4


Devil May Cry has long been a staple platformer on consoles but has found only moderate success with its PC ports. The 4th iteration of this series aims to buck this trend with stunning visuals and intuitive gameplay

In this benchmark we used the in-game benchmark tool while running FRAPS to measure an average and minimum framerate.


1280 X 1024

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1600 X 1200

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2560 X 1600

HD4870X2-57.jpg


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Here we see that the HD4870 X2 and the HD4870 Crossfire solution trade blows again and again with Crossfire winning when AA is turned on. This is quite odd considering the fact we would have thought the extra memory on the X2 would have helped it gain ground when AA is turned on at high resolution. This could be due to anything from margin of error to driver differences. However, at these extremely high framerates, does anyone really care if you are at 122 instead of 125? I surely hope not…
 

SKYMTL

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Crysis DX9

Crysis DX9


Crysis is one of those games that comes along every now and then and totally humbles every graphics card on the market. While some people have pointed towards shoddy programming, it is undeniable that this game looks ridiculously good when played at higher settings.

For this test we recorded a custom timedemo on the Harbor level equaling about 20 minutes of game time through jungle, over water and in vehicles. All results were recorded with FRAPS over the course of the timedemo.

1280 X 1024

HD4870X2-86.jpg


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1600 X 1200

HD4870X2-42.jpg


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1920 X 1080

HD4870X2-44.jpg


HD4870X2-45.jpg

I think I am sounding like a broken record already but even though this is a very Nvidia-centric game, the new ATI card is able to overcome some CPU bottlenecks at lower resolutions and eventually comes out smelling like roses. Its performance is very impressive in Crysis considering the stunts it seems ATI’s driver team has had to pull for adequate framerates.
 

SKYMTL

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Crysis DX10

Crysis DX10



1280 X 1024

HD4870X2-46.jpg


HD4870X2-47.jpg

1600 X 1200

HD4870X2-48.jpg


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1920 X 1080

HD4870X2-50.jpg


HD4870X2-52.jpg

Let’s try to put this as delicately as possible: if but this card to play at 1280 x 1024 resolution, you need help. So, let’s look a bit beyond that since it seems like the processor is causing a bit of a bottleneck. That being said, the HD4870 X2 performed very well here. BUT (and this is a big but), at 1600 x 1200 resolution there was some texture corrumption in the middle of our benchmarking run. So, which this didn’t repeat anywhere else we thought it pertinent to mention it here.
 

SKYMTL

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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare


This has quickly become one of the most popular games for the PC and with good reason. This is one of the few times I have experienced actual excitement when looking for a good area to record the timedemo. The graphics are amazing and at the same time quite demanding when you get into the higher resolutions.

For this test we recorded a 15 minute timedemo on the Crash multiplayer level and recorded framerates using FRAPS. The maximum in-game framerate was bumped to 999.



1280 X 1024

HD4870X2-62.jpg


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1600 X 1200

HD4870X2-82.jpg


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2650 X 1600

HD4870X2-84.jpg


HD4870X2-85.jpg

Call of Duty 4 sees the HD4870 X2 really shine at every resolution and it really starts showing its wings at high resolution. It seems that this is one game that is able to really take advantage of ATI’s inclusion of 2GB of ram, especially in terms of minimum framerates at high resolution.
 

SKYMTL

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Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars


Enemy Territory: Quake wars is the latest iteration of the wildly popular Quake franchise from ID Software. While it was met with luke-warm reviews by both the media and the gaming community, it remains an extremely popular online game.

In this test we set up a 15 minute timedemo on the Refinery level while the framerates were recorded in-game.


HD4870X2-59.jpg


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ET: Quake Wars sees much the same as with 3DMark06 where increased AA settings contribute to bring down the framerates for some reason. Even at the highest resolution it seems like the HD4870X2 looses out by a small margin to the Crossfired HD4870 cards.
 

SKYMTL

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World in Conflict DX9

World in Conflict DX9


This is one stunning game. World in Conflict has provided us with some of my most memorable gaming experiences since the first Homeworld game was released and it has not stopped wowing me. In its DX9 form it provides eye-popping visuals and pushes most modern GPUs to their limits. However, in DX10 mode this game will cause nearly every graphics card to beg for mercy.

For this test we used the in-game benchmarking tool.

1280 X 1024

HD4870X2-69.jpg


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1600 X 1200

HD4870X2-71.jpg


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2560 X 1600

HD4870X2-74.jpg


HD4870X2-75.jpg

Even though World in Conflict is seriously, seriously bottlenecked by the CPU at lower resolutions, as image quality is adjusted upwards the HD4870 X2 can show its strengths. As is natural, when resolution increases the larger amount of memory begins to reap benefits.
 

SKYMTL

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Messages
12,840
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World in Conflict DX10

World in Conflict DX10



1280 X 1024

HD4870X2-76.jpg


HD4870X2-77.jpg


1600 X 1200

HD4870X2-78.jpg


HD4870X2-79.jpg


2560 X 1600

HD4870X2-80.jpg


HD4870X2-81.jpg

We finally round out our tests with another dose of World in Conflict but this time in DX10 flavour and let me tell you, this was impressive to see. The HD4870 X2 really showed what it was all about when the pressure was on at 2560 x 1600 resolution with AA turned on where it put down the best framerates we have seen in this test…ever.
 
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